Mosely expected Penn State to throw to all-Big Ten receiver Allen Robinson with a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown late in regulation of the Nittany Lions' eventual 24-17 overtime victory.

Mosely was matched up against Brandon Felder on the opposite side of the field. But Illinois' coverage focused on keeping the ball away from Robinson, who torched Illinois for 165 yards on 11 catches. Then it clicked in Mosely's head — the ball might be coming to Felder.

"I was thinking it was going to go to Robinson," Mosely said. "But then I said, 'Everybody in the stadium is thinking that.' So they're probably going to try to come to the opposite side."

Sure enough, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg dropped back and was focused on Felder, who was running a go-route. Hackenberg fired into the end zone. Mosely got his hand on it to break up the play at the last second as the ball slipped through Felder's hands. Penn State lined up again. Same play. Mosely recognized it and nearly intercepted the pass.

"I felt like it kind of cost the game," Mosely said. "It would've ended the game had I caught that."

Mosely is being a little hard on himself because those two plays illustrate the potential the freshman cornerback has as a part of a young Illini secondary.

"When you're on that island, you actually have to get out there and experience it, there's no telling them about it," defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "They have to go out and do it. To be able to do it under those circumstances in that type of arena is big for his confidence."

It helped that Mosely was playing man-to-man press coverage against Felder.

"You would love to play man every snap," Banks said. "But the reality of it is, if they know you're in man, they have different things they can go to as well. We'll mix in zones when it's appropriate."

Two weeks ago, with V'Angelo Bentley unable to face Michigan State because of a foot injury, coach Tim Beckman told Mosely and fellow freshman Jaylen Dunlap that whoever practiced better that Thursday would get the starting job.

Mosely won out, although the victory in some ways was pyrrhic. Opposing teams know they Illini have a young secondary, so Mosely prepares as if he is going to get picked on each week.

He took plenty of lumps when he covered Robinson on Saturday despite holding his own on a few occasions, such as late in the game.

Going forward, the goal for Mosely isn't to make noteworthy plays like those two. It's to make them so regularly that they don't stand out.

"My first game, I had a little nervousness, a little jitters," Mosely said. "But now I've settled in. I'm not a freshman anymore, I'm called on to make plays."